Public opinion on which candidate would do a better job of
improving economic conditions has shifted from an advantage for
Romney in Pew’s June survey to support for Obama in the latest
survey of 2,373 registered voters conducted June 28-July 9.

“Romney has not seized the advantage as the candidate best
able to improve the economy,” the Pew Research Center states in
its website report on the survey. “In fact, he has lost ground
on the issue over the past month.”

The shift in opinion is notable after two months of reports
from the U.S. Department of Labor that the nation’s rate of
unemployment has held steady at 8.2 percent, with just 77,000
jobs added in May and 80,000 jobs added in June.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, called the
latest jobs report a “kick in the gut” and evidence that the
president’s economic policies aren’t working.

Obama has pointed to more than two years of consecutive job
growth from month to month, with more than 4 million jobs added,
and maintained that “inch by inch, yard by yard, mile by
mile,” the economy is improving. He has campaigned against
Congress for not enacting measures which might add more jobs.

Health-Care Ruling

The Pew survey found that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4
ruling on June 28 upholding the core of the president’s Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act has had little impact on the
presidential campaign. The law is intended to provide health
insurance for millions of Americans who don’t have coverage.

Romney and Republican congressional leaders have called the
law’s requirement that most people obtain insurance or pay a
penalty a “tax.” Yet the Pew report states that “health care
remains a secondary issue” in the campaign.

The nation’s job situation is the leading issue in the
campaign, the survey finds. Romney, a co-founder and former
chief executive officer of Boston-based Bain Capital, is
campaigning as a candidate who knows how to create jobs.

More voters voice confidence in Obama’s ability to improve
the job situation -- by a margin of 46 percent to 42 percent.
Voters surveyed said Obama can do a better job of improving
economic conditions by 48 percent to 42 percent.

The survey also found stronger support for the president
among his backers, with 64 percent of Obama’s supporters in the
poll saying they strongly support him and 34 percent of Romney’s
backers saying they strongly support the Republican.